With the consent of the parties,
*fn2"
evidence consisting of numerous depositions, exhibits, and the in-court testimony of several witnesses was initially presented to a single judge. Complete copies of the record were then distributed to the two other judges. Ultimately, the full three-judge court heard oral argument on all aspects of the case.

Upon consideration of the entire record herein, we conclude that plaintiff's request for a declaratory judgment must be denied. Although we are convinced that the territorial expansion was accomplished without a discriminatory purpose, the subsequently adopted election plans were fatally infected by such an intent. Moreover, the implementation of any of the voting schemes presented would most probably have the effect of abridging the electoral rights of Port Arthur's minority communities. With respect to the advisory councils, we find the absence of a discriminatory purpose and the presence of a discriminatory effect. The opinion which follows sets forth our findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

I. FACTUAL FINDINGS

A. General Background

Plaintiff City of Port Arthur ("Port Arthur" or "the City") is a municipality located on the southeastern boundary of the State of Texas. It lies approximately 90 miles east of Houston in the southern portion of Jefferson County on the salt-grass marshland adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico. Sabine Lake and the Sabine-Neches waterway border the City on the south while the municipalities of Nederland, Groves, and Port Neches pose a barrier to the north and east. West of Port Arthur is a wildlife management area and several large petroleum company complexes. Due to the location of the City and the resources at hand, the population is primarily engaged in oil refining, petro-chemical manufacturing, sea-faring, and related occupations.
*fn3"

Within the general area occupied by Port Arthur are four communities which are of central concern in this litigation. The Town of Lakeview ("Lakeview"), the City of Griffing Park ("Griffing Park"), and the City of Pear Ridge ("Pear Ridge") are all incorporated entities covering less than one square mile each. Lakeview overlooks Lake Sabine and is surrounded on all sides by Port Arthur. Situated one mile to the north is Griffing Park which edges Groves on the east and Pear Ridge on the north-west but is otherwise enveloped by the plaintiff City. Aside from its shared border with Griffing Park, Pear Ridge is totally enclosed by Port Arthur. Finally, there is a fourth unincorporated area known as Sabine Pass which is situated eight miles to the south of the City.
*fn4"

The City of Port Arthur was founded in 1898, and it has operated under its own Charter since March 8, 1932, in accordance with the so-called "home-rule amendment" of the Texas Constitution.
*fn8"
City officials were elected by at-large vote until 1954.
*fn9"
Then, between 1954 and 1963, Port Arthur adopted the commission-manager form of government and the single-member district or ward system.
*fn10"
Each of the seven commissioners was required to be a resident of the district which he or she represented, and each was elected by only the qualified voters in the district. The commissioners served two year terms with four of the commissioners elected at one time and the remaining three elected the following year. It was necessary that candidates receive a majority of the vote in order to get elected. Following each election, one of the seven commissioners was selected by the commission to serve as mayor.

Throughout the period when this single-member district plan was in effect, the districts were essentially drawn on a north-south axis parallel to the named avenues of the City.
*fn11"
The black population was heavily concentrated in District 1, the area west of Houston Avenue,
*fn12"
and the commission regularly included a single black member elected from that district between 1954 and 1963.
*fn13"
Beginning with the construction of the first urban renewal project in 1957, a significant number of blacks began to move eastward across Houston Avenue into the traditional white residential areas which constituted the other election districts.
*fn14"
By 1960, it appeared that District 2 was going to become as predominantly black as District 1.
*fn15"

In 1963, however, the results of a Charter change referendum compelled the City to alter the form of government.
*fn16"
From that time on, Port Arthur has been governed by a seven-member council and a professional manager who operates the City and carries out the policies of the City Council.
*fn17"
According to the so-called 6-0-1 plan,
*fn18"
six of the council members are each required to live in newly-drawn residency districts including the old District 1, three new districts drawn along an east-west axis, and two additional districts covering the large area to the north.
*fn19"
In order to win a seat, however, a candidate has to be elected by a majority of all of the qualified voters in the City. The seventh position, the mayoral place is similarly filled by an at-large contest, but the mayor is not required to reside in any particular district. Although the mayor bears certain ceremonial and "political" responsibilities not shared by the other members of the Council, he casts a vote on each matter under consideration just as his fellow officials do.
*fn20"
Each year, three council members are elected, and the three others along with the mayor are voted on the following year.

This Charter amendment was overwhelmingly approved by the citizens of Port Arthur who cast 6,829 votes in its favor and lodged only 1,022 votes against it; blacks and whites alike supported the measure.
*fn21"
In an effort to explain the motivation for this change, plaintiff demonstrated that Port Arthur had been plagued by widespread corruption while the single-member district plan was extant.
*fn22"
Whether or not the ward system actually spawned the illegal activities, the citizens of Port Arthur believed that there was such a connection.
*fn23"
No justification was offered, however, for the redrawing of district boundaries along east-west lines. The record bears witness to the fact that this redistricting had the effect of maintaining the concentration of blacks in District 1 while simultaneously fragmenting the growing black population east of Houston Avenue in Districts 2, 3, and 4 by combining it with the larger white population on the east side of the City.
*fn24"
Consequently, a minority candidate from the western portion of District 2, 3, or 4 would face a white opponent from the east.

2. 1963 to 1977

Under the at-large system, Port Arthur received national recognition when nominated as an All American City in 1970 and when given the award of the National Municipal League in 1973.
*fn25"
Nevertheless, racial tension festered beneath the surface. As blacks moved east across Houston Avenue, whites moved further east and even out of the City into the surrounding townships.
*fn26"
Between 1960 and 1970, the non-black population in Port Arthur diminished from 46,145 to 34,377.
*fn27"
There is some suggestion in the record that the outmigration was motivated by the decreased hiring of the local oil refineries and the high cost of living in Port Arthur,
*fn28"
but these factors would have impacted on blacks as much as whites and there is no evidence that blacks were leaving the City. On the other hand, there was overwhelming testimony that the white exodus was prompted by racial considerations. A 1969 study commissioned by the municipal government revealed that the most frequent negative comment of Port Arthurians with respect to their home was "too many minority group members."
*fn29"
Mayor Bernis Sadler and the City's demographic expert, Lyle M. Vickers, both attributed the outward movement to the court-ordered desegregation of the schools in 1970.
*fn30"
In 1973, the Port Arthur City Council received another study from a Chicago-based consulting group, the Public Administration Service ("PAS"), which also concluded that race was a reason for the outmigration of whites.
*fn31"
Thus, since 1960, Port Arthur appears to have suffered a classic case of "white flight."

On December 29, 1974, the situation was exacerbated when a black youth named Clifford Coleman was shot to death by a white Port Arthur policeman while escaping from police custody.
*fn32"
Plaintiff asserts that Coleman was escaping from "jail" as opposed to "police custody." Semantics aside, it is undisputed that the black youth was being booked for using abusive language when he broke away from the police officer who shot him as he ran.
*fn33"
The level of racial tension in the City increased significantly following the incident, and, for the first time, there was a community-wide reaction to what was perceived as a racially discriminatory act.
*fn34"
The black population of Port Arthur conducted rallies, held marches and attended community-wide meetings. Several businesses were burned, and at least one family armed itself in preparation for a conflict.
*fn35"
More peaceful protests included the resignation of all the black members of the Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce and the refusal of a local black football star, Joe Washington, to accept an award from the Chamber.
*fn36"

Although the tension level subsided somewhat in the years following the Coleman shooting, the effects of the incident continued to be felt in Port Arthur.
*fn37"
The municipal elections of April 2, 1977, for example, evidenced the unremitting racial hostility. Four council seats including that of the mayor were in contention, and in each race a white candidate confronted a black.
*fn38"
As part of their campaign effort against the slate of black candidates, members of the Port Arthur City Council placed a series of three full-page advertisements in the Port Arthur News on the three days preceding the election.
*fn39"
The ads warned about the efforts of the Rev. William Land "to rally the local black community to gain control of the city government." Specifically named as associates of Rev. Land were two black candidates; A. Z. McElroy was said to have brought him to Port Arthur and Paul Strawder was allegedly president of his congregation. Plaintiff City of Port Arthur subsequently characterized these ads as admonitions of an "outside takeover,"
*fn40"
but the language of the ads undeniably referred to a takeover by the local black community. Furthermore, each of the black councilmanic candidates in the 1977 election was a long-time resident of Port Arthur.
*fn41"
Only Rev. Land was an "outsider," but he was not running for office.

In the ensuing election, the black slate narrowly lost every race.
*fn42"
By all accounts, the election results reflected severely polarized racial bloc voting; the phenomenon which occurs when white citizens vote for white candidates and black citizens cast their ballots for blacks.
*fn43"

3. Consolidation with Pear Ridge and Lakeview

Almost immediately after the councilmanic elections of April 2, 1977, there was considerable discussion of the idea of consolidating Port Arthur with the surrounding white communities. The economic and administrative need for such action had been recognized at least since the 1940's.
*fn44"
Between 1940 and 1950, the City annexed two areas in order to increase the municipal population, and the people of Port Arthur supported an unsuccessful effort to annex the area now known as the City of Groves. In the next decade, Port Arthur annexed several areas including Port Acres, El Vista, Fairlea, Highland Heights and Foster Estates. The City again voted to consolidate with Groves in 1959,
*fn45"
but that effort and a 1956-57 campaign to join Port Arthur with Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park failed. Among the factors motivating these efforts in the 1950's were the City's desires to increase its population for the 1960 Census, to facilitate construction of a seawall for the entire area, to improve streets and police and fire protection, and to attract business. Although the City continued its search for ways to increase its population, there was no expansion of the municipal boundaries between 1960 and 1970.
*fn46"

In 1973, the Port Arthur City Council received the above-mentioned PAS report. Entitled "Intergovernmental Relations in the Greater Port Arthur Area," the study recommended that "the City of Port Arthur, and the surrounding municipalities should be consolidated to create a single governmental unit."
*fn47"
In order to accomplish such a reorganization, PAS counseled that "an intensive and deliberate effort to develop a broad consensus on the best available alternative to the status quo" was required. After this "painstaking research and proposal development," it would be necessary to enlist popular support by "a variety of promotional methods, suited to the diverse composition of the electorate."

Despite the unqualified recommendation of PAS and the urgings of residents from the surrounding townships, no action was taken by the Port Arthur municipal government. The PAS consulting group was not contacted again until the time of trial, nor was any other study of consolidation commissioned before May, 1977.
*fn51"
The subject of consolidation was not even mentioned in the official minutes of the Port Arthur City Council from March 8, 1976, to April 4, 1977.
*fn52"

Once the results of the April 2, 1977, municipal elections were known, however, the Port Arthur City Council pursued the issue of consolidation vigorously. On April 11, 1977, at the very next regular meeting of the Council, the former mayor of Port Arthur, R. B. McCollum, informed the members that "it is essential to unite and consolidate now more than ever before."
*fn53"
Later in the month, Port Arthur Mayor Sadler and City Manager Dibrell took an unprecedented action
*fn54"
by arranging three separate meetings with members of the all-white Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park city councils at the Holiday Motel Restaurant in order to discuss citizen interest in consolidation and to explain the benefits which would accrue.
*fn55"

Plaintiff City of Port Arthur offered the surrounding municipalities a series of inducements to consolidate. One of the principal attractions held out to the adjacent communities was Port Arthur's recently decreased tax rate.
*fn65"
Prior to 1977, the municipal property tax on homeowners was significantly higher than that of its neighbors because the City Charter precluded the annexation of adjoining industrial properties. Port Arthurians amended the Charter in 1975, however, so as to permit the necessary annexations. By 1977, after the City had negotiated very favorable contracts involving substantially increased payments in lieu of taxes from the industrial property owners, the tax rate was greatly lowered. Therefore, it became possible for Port Arthur to promise the surrounding townships a reduction in their property taxes and a five-year freeze on the 1976 property assessments in use at the time.
*fn66"

Consolidation also provided a vehicle for the neighboring areas to resolve various problems relating to water and sewage services.
*fn67"
For many years, each township had contracted with Port Arthur for these services, but legal disputes had developed over the prices charged. In addition, state and federal regulations implemented in 1976 required vast revisions to the water and sewer facilities in each city. Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park did not have the financial resources to make the necessary capital improvements. Although Port Arthur had the funds with which to comply with the new regulations, it was unwilling to renew the disputed and disadvantageous service contracts. If the municipalities consolidated, however, Port Arthur would furnish the capital for the required improvements and would absorb by operation of Texas law the legal liabilities owed to it.

Finally, Port Arthur City officials pledged that they would establish advisory councils to the City Council from Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park.
*fn69"
For a five-year transition period commencing on the effective date of the consolidation, the elected members of these councils would have direct access to and influence on the decision-making process of the municipal government. Although individuals and groups from other areas of the City were free to contact members of the City Council, no official advisory councils were created to represent those areas.

The benefits of consolidation did not inure solely to the neighboring communities. Port Arthur, for example, was extremely interested in maintaining a population in excess of 50,000 so as to remain entitled as a matter of right to funds from federal agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD").
*fn70"
Were the population to decrease below the 50,000 level, HUD would diminish the amount of the direct grant by one-third each year; in the fourth year, the City would have to complete with other applicants for discretionary awards. Since 1975, the City had automatically received almost $ 10,000,000 in federal grants, but there was evidence that the municipal population was approaching the 50,000 mark. Between 1960 and 1970, the number of Port Arthurians had declined from 66,676 to 57,371. Before the dinner meetings at the Holiday Motel, City officials were in receipt of an estimate from the Office of Revenue Sharing indicating that there were only 53,557 residents in 1976 and population data published by the R.L. Polk Co. for the years 1972-75. In order to ensure federal funding for the foreseeable future, Port Arthur sought to consolidate with the surrounding municipalities. Having already annexed all of the adjacent black communities, the City turned to Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park.

An increase in population also had other advantages for Port Arthur. Although the City would be required to provide services to the new residents, it was anticipated that the additional cost would be minimal and greatly outweighed by the increased tax revenue. The City Manager suggested that the economies were so apparent that it was unnecessary to prepare a detailed cost-benefit analysis.
*fn71"
Furthermore, Port Arthur hoped that the increased visibility resulting from consolidation would attract new businesses and thereby create new jobs.
*fn72"

Certified copies of the results of the consolidation referenda held in Port Arthur, Pear Ridge and Lakeview were filed with the Texas Secretary of State on December 1, 1977, and the consolidation was officially consummated.
*fn78"
Henceforth, the City of Port Arthur was responsible for governing a population which was, according to 1980 census statistics, increased by 6,008 people including 80 blacks to a total of 60,493 of whom 24,710 or 40.85% were black and 3,825 or 6.32% were Hispanic.
*fn79"
The areas formerly known as Pear Ridge and Lakeview contributed over 16% of the whites in the enlarged community and less than 1% of the blacks.
*fn80"

4. The 7-0-1 plan

On November 28, 1977, the Port Arthur City Council fulfilled its promise to the Pear Ridge and Lakeview electorate by adopting Ordinances 77-118 and 77-119 which established Pear Ridge and Lakeview Advisory Councils.
*fn81"
The City Council also assembled an Advisory Committee for Council Election System for the purpose of proposing changes in the manner of electing council members in view of the expansion of the City.
*fn82"
Thirteen local civic groups were selected to appoint two members each to the Election System Advisory Committee. Of the 26 people designated to serve on the Committee, only 7 were black and 2 were Hispanic.

The record suggests that the Advisory Committee for Council Election System was racially divided.
*fn83"
According to the statement in the Committee minutes by Rev. Ransom Howard and the testimony of other black committee members, the white members generally favored an at-large system while the blacks supported a single-member district plan. Eventually, the majority of the Committee recommended to the City Council that the at-large election system be continued and that a seventh councilmanic position be added to the existing six-member council ("7-0-1" plan). A minority report proposing the adoption of a single-member district plan was submitted to the Council by five of the seven black representatives on the Committee.

Plaintiff argues that the City Charter only permitted the Council to increase the number of seats from six to eight without changing the election system itself.
*fn84"
Furthermore, the City claims that the addition of a seventh position was a valid effort to "increase minority representation."
*fn85"
These explanations, however, ignore the possibility of amending the Charter by means of a referendum election, and they do not justify the failure to read the minority report at the two public hearings held by the City Council on December 28, 1977, to discuss the Committee's recommendation.
*fn86"
Without attempting to answer these two questions, the Port Arthur City Council accepted the 7-0-1 plan recommended by the Council Election System Advisory Committee and enacted Ordinance 78-11 on January 16, 1978.
*fn87"
Subsequently, Ordinance 78-15 was adopted in order to make technical adjustments to certain residency district lines.

5. Annexation of Sabine Pass

Approximately six months after consolidation with Pear Ridge and Lakeview, the City of Port Arthur began to annex the area known as Sabine Pass, a separate unincorporated community located eight miles from the closest point in Port Arthur. In view of the problems encountered with the municipalities east of Port Arthur and the movement developing in Sabine Pass to incorporate, the Port Arthur City Council decided to annex the latter community.
*fn88"
The City had apparently planned to annex Sabine Pass about five years in the future for various economic and administrative reasons. Among the advantages cited by Port Arthur were obtaining a deep water port, sharing a common water supply, controlling offshore drilling activity, acquiring an area for industrial growth, and preventing fragmentation of jurisdiction.

By virtue of Ordinances 78-43, 78-47, 79-33, 79-34, and 79-67, Port Arthur's population increased by 501 including 31 blacks and 18 Hispanics according to the 1980 Census.
*fn89"
The City's total population advanced to 60,994 of whom 24,741 or 40.56% were black and 3,843 or 6.30% were of Spanish origin. Thus, since 1977, Port Arthur has enveloped within its borders 5,675 additional whites and 111 additional blacks who comprise 17.51% and 0.45% of the total number of individuals of their respective races in the enlarged City.
*fn90"

6. The 8-0-1 plan

Not having held councilmanic elections since April 2, 1977, the City made another effort to develop an acceptable election system at the beginning of 1980. Exhausting its Charter authority, Port Arthur City Council enlarged itself so as to include nine members ("8-0-1" plan).
*fn91"
Eight members were required to reside in different districts, and each had to obtain a majority of the votes cast by all of the qualified voters in the "new" City. Their two-year terms were staggered so that four council members were chosen one year, and the four others were selected the next year. The mayor continued to be elected at large every other year.

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